AXIS2027
Awards

Four awards for excellent work.

AXIS 2027 recognises outstanding research, promising students, work with direct impact in the field, and science made beautiful. Every accepted presenter is considered automatically for the first three awards. The image competition takes a separate entry.

The awards

What each award recognises.

Best Paper Award

For the most significant and rigorous contribution across the six scientific tracks.

  • Criteria: originality, technical rigour, clarity, and quality of the presentation
  • Eligibility: any accepted oral or poster paper presented at the conference, in person or remotely
  • Prize: certificate and award, presented on stage

Best Student Award

For an outstanding paper led and presented by a PhD or MSc student, including work in the PGR showcase.

  • Criteria: quality of the research, the student's own contribution, and confidence in presentation and discussion
  • Eligibility: first author and presenter registered as a student, with proof of status
  • Prize: certificate and award, presented on stage

Industry Impact Award

For research with direct application in the field, where science and industry meet.

  • Criteria: demonstrated or clearly credible impact on practice, safety, cost or emissions, and strength of the evidence
  • Eligibility: papers in any track and in the industry case-study track, including academic–industry collaborations
  • Prize: certificate and award, presented on stage

Research Image Competition

For the most striking image produced through research in energy and mechanics.

  • Criteria: visual impact, scientific interest, and how well the caption explains the science
  • Eligibility: registered delegates, by separate entry through the portal by 8 January 2027
  • Prize: the winning image on the programme cover, a 10-minute talk, and a certificate and award
Judging

How winners are chosen.

Shortlist

Track co-chairs nominate a shortlist using peer-review scores, and session chairs' assessments of the presentations.

Panel

A judging panel of scientific committee members, joined by industry advisory board members for the Industry Impact Award, selects the winners. Judges with a conflict of interest stand aside.

Presentation

Winners are announced and presented with their awards at the conference. The judges' decisions are final, and the panel may choose not to make an award in a given year.

Named award sponsors present the awards but take no part in judging.

Research Image Competition

Put your research on the cover.

Since 2014, the ECM symposia have put a research image on the front of the programme. AXIS 2027 continues that tradition. The winning image becomes the cover of the conference programme, and its creator gives a 10-minute talk about the science behind it.

Create account to enter →Entry specification

Entry rules

  • Deadline: 8 January 2027
  • How to enter: upload through the portal in your account, with a title and short caption
  • Who can enter: registered delegates, in person or virtual
  • The image: must come from your own research, for example micrographs, simulations, field or lab photographs, or data visualisations. Fully AI-generated images are not eligible
  • Rights: you hold the rights or have permission, and have consent from anyone identifiable in the image
  • Use: by entering, you allow Bon Accord Symposia Ltd to reproduce the image, with credit, in the programme and conference materials
  • Prize: programme cover, a 10-minute talk at the conference, and a certificate and award
Be in the running

Submit an abstract, and you are already a contender.

Every accepted, registered and presented paper is considered for Best Paper, Best Student and Industry Impact. The image competition closes on 8 January 2027.

Call for papers →Sponsor an award